One day in the early 1990s, as Simpsons writers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were working on a script in their office, Matt Groening appeared at the door and blurted out an idea. We should do an episode like Who shot J.R.? Weinstein remembers the creator of the show saying, but with Mr. Burns.
By then, the series had since evolved from a magazine-cover-gracing, T-shirt-moving, Cosby-toppling phenomenon into the best, most subversive sitcom on television. While ascending to a creative peak higher than the Murderhorn, The Simpsons parodied (and paid homage to) horror movies, musicals, political fables, and blockbusters. It was only natural that the show would take a crack at a mystery.
Who Shot J.R.?, the smash-hit whodunit that unfolded across the third and fourth seasons of primetime soap Dallas in 1980, provided the perfect template for The Simpsons. The key was to come up with something that stayed both true to the shows ethos and to a beloved genre. After all, Oakley said, Procedural mysteries have a certain visceral appeal to people that you just dont get when youre doing satirical jabs.
A seemingly gimmicky cliffhanger probably shouldve veered off into Worst. Episode. Ever territory. But one important plot point, endorsed by a legendary figure in Simpsons history, helped ensure that the two-part Who Shot Mr. Burns? became a classic. Foxs comically relentless marketing campaign helped turn it into an event.
On May 21, 1995, part one aired as The Simpsons sixth-season finale. Its a moment then-showrunner David Mirkin will never forget. People in the United States have the kind of lives where they say, I can always remember where I was when Mr. Burns got shot, he deadpans. Its kinda sad.
